Unfassbar: Die facebook-Affaire in Syrien hat es in die Deutschen Medien geschafft!!! G~~t, wie schlecht. Aber! This analysis, explaining why Facebook was blocked in Syria, was written to my by Idaf. It is very interesting. It argues that the reason Facebook was banned was not because of government concerns about virtual "civil society" as I wrote yesterday, an argument that has also appeared on the wire services today. Rather, Idaf argues, security heads in Syria were concerned to stop a spam campaign that used Facebook and was directed against the persons of President Asad and particularly his wife. It also argues that the number of Syrians participating on Facebook continues to expand despite the ban.

Hamas on Saturday condemned a decision by Arab powers to endorse next week's U.S.-hosted Israeli-Palestinian peace conference, saying the talks would favour the Jewish state's policies rather than Palestinian demands. Islamist Hamas, which refuses to recognise Israel and broke with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas after seizing control of the Gaza Strip in a June civil war, is excluded from the Nov. 27 conference in Annapolis, Maryland. Arab League ministers agreed on Friday to attend the conference in the hope of promoting the creation of a Palestinian state and pushing for Israel to return the occupied Golan Heights to Syria as part of a regional peace process. Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri called the announcement "a great shock for Palestinians because it opened the door for direct normalisation with the occupation (Israel) amid (its) continued escalation and aggression". - Hamas can make the rockets it fires at Israel much deadlier by packing them with more explosives, a senior official in the Islamic militant group said in a statement Saturday. The official, Ahmed Yousef, made the threat just two days before the start of a U.S.-hosted Middle East peace conference in Annapolis, Maryland. [Es wäre unnatürlich wenn die Hamas nicht nach Modifikationen forschen würde. Die Ankündigung selbst ist eher mittelprächtig, denn das Problem der Qassam ist das Zielen und Treffen und nicht der Gehalt an explosives. In den letzten monaten lernte man das den Israelischen Verantwortlichen Qassams auf Schulen und Kindergärten definitiv egal sind, hingegen Angriffe auf Militäreinrichtungen sehr an die Nieren gehen. Leider eine Konstante bei nationalistisch geprägten Denkschemen. Erst wenn die Hamas die IDF treffen kann interessierts jemanden.]

Lächerlich: Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad said on Saturday that the Palestinian delegation is going to the Annapolis conference to hasten the establishment of a Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital. Showveranstaltung. His comments came during a surprise visit to Nablus, where he said that he wanted to closely monitor the work of the Palestinian security services in the volatile city. Beinahe hätten sie ihm noch einen Truthahn serviert. A pro pos: Germany`s Merkel phones Olmert, expresses hope for Annapolis summit success. Sabbat um, *ring-ring*, [Was mag da in einem wie Olmert vorgehen? Ist es die Steuerfahndung? Ist es der Tip vor der Steuerfahndung? Wer hats so eilig gleich nach Sabbat-Ende?]